Forget Me Not

Summary:
The Cullens have left Forks, leaving Bella broken hearted and alone until a near-fatal car accident temporarily erases her memories. What happens when the one person she finds comfort with happens to be the brother of the man she can't remember? Will she regain her memories of Edward or will she find a new love with Jasper?

Notes:
This story starts around the beginning of New Moon. Rated NR-17. B/E and B/J.
DISCLAIMER:
All characters are the sole property of Stephanie Meyers but the story is my own.

3. Old Friends

I had hoped my stay in the hospital would be short, but I was mistaken. The doctor wanted to keep me for a few more days in addition to the week I had already spent there. The tenderness of my injuries had dulled quite a bit, with only the occasional spike of pain. The morphine regiments were replaced with a liberal dose of Tylenol to help manage the flare ups when they hit. On top of everything else, I was having a hard time falling asleep. My mind had become a newborn child, active at night, asleep during the day. The scratchy fabric of the open-back hospital gowns didn’t exactly help relax me either. After my third sleepless night of toying with the open flap on my gown Renee insisted that I be allowed to wear my own pajamas if they wanted me to spend another night in the hospital. Charlie was in favor of that change. I had never been more overjoyed to see my old sweatpants and t-shirts, but they only helped a little. A sleeping aid was added to my nightly regiment of pills, completing the last possible task of making me more comfortable in my sterile and not-so-homely room. The doctor suspected that my sleep pattern would return to normal once I had most of my memories back, however long that would be. The nurse administered my medication and left me alone to pretty much fall into a drug induced coma. Within minutes, I was out cold.

I woke up in the middle of the night in agony. A thousand knives ripped through my muscles. I clenched my eyes and couldn’t help but cry as the gripping pain waged war on my broken body. Renee had already flown back to Florida and Charlie was once again sleeping at home, leaving me here - Alone in my misery. I tried to reposition myself, rolling to my side, but that only seemed to enrage the pain. I drummed my fingers over the plastic barrel of the dull gray call button. The thought crossed my mind to use it, but I didn’t dare move. The pain grew stronger, forcing my head into the pillow to muffle my sobs. I wanted to die.

“Do you need more pain killers?” A soft, masculine voice whispered to me from a dark corner of the room.

“Yes,” I whimpered, surprised at the frailness of my voice. A tall, pale man with golden-blond hair stepped out into the moonlight and gave me an injection of what I prayed was morphine. Ordinarily, I would have shied away from a needle, but tonight I embraced it. The pain retreated like a defeated army as the drug dulled my nerve-endings. He looked down at me with a warm smile, brushing the loose locks of hair away from my clammy face. He was familiar to me; the strong definition of his jawbone, the perfection of his skin, I knew them all. I tried to force a memory, much like I had done with Charlie and Renee. I just had to find something to focus on that might be a trigger. I looked the stranger over but stopped when I noticed his eyes. They were a brilliant-golden color that stood out immensely, even in the darkness of the room. The longer I stared into his eyes, the clearer my memories became.

“Carlisle…”

“How are you, Bella?”

“Better, now that you are here,” I exhaled.

Carlisle laughed softly as he slid a chair across the unwaxed linoleum floor to my bedside. “I’m glad to hear that. You seem to progressing very well with your memory loss.” He seemed nervous. I tried to make sense of the jumbled memories that drifted in and out of my head like the ocean’s tide. It was hopeless.

“Bella…”

“I’m sorry, I remember who you are, but the details are still fuzzy.”

“It’s okay. Don’t try to force it; your memory will come back when the time is right.”

I knew he was right, but I was impatient and frustrated with the way everyone acted like this memory-loss thing was no big deal. “My head feels like a box of puzzle pieces,” I sighed as Carlisle patted my hand. His skin was ice cold, like he had just taken a bath in ice water. He raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of expression on my face. He was nervous, like he had something to hide. The veil of fog that clouded my memories lifted, and I remembered the family with the dark secret. The Cullens were vampires and Carlisle, in essence, was their leader.

“Don’t worry, your secret is still safe with me,” I whispered in a daze.

“I know it is, Bella.” He gave my hand a friendly squeeze and rewarded me with one of his comforting smiles. The coolness of his skin and the strength his touch stirred more memories, but they were merely pieces to a bigger puzzle.

“Alice?” The name rolled off my tongue without effort. An angelic giggle came from the same dark corner of the room that earlier concealed Carlisle.

“I guess it’s safe for the others to say hello now,” he said, shaking his head with a grin.

“The others?” I shook the drugged affect from my eyes and pushed myself up to welcome my visitors.

“Jasper and Alice insisted on accompanying me on this visit,” he glanced over his shoulder. I held my breath and waited for them to appear. Alice came out first, prancing over to my bedside with the perfect balance that I remembered envying.

“Oh, Bella, I have missed you so much!” Her voice was like a beautiful melody, though her words made Carlisle’s head turn towards her in a flash.

“I have only been in here for a week,” I said with curiosity, watching the expression on Carlisle’s face, “hardly enough time to miss me.”

I tried to understand why Alice would miss me but I couldn’t remember much prior to the accident. Most importantly, why was Carlisle so stunned by her words. Had we gotten into a fight? The only memory I had of Alice, other than her perfection and gracefulness, was the sisterly bond we shared and her often irritating love of fashion. Carlisle’s lips were moving fast but I couldn’t hear anything more than a low hum. The frustration was building rapidly, bringing tears to my eyes. I felt like the butt of some cruel joke.

“Bella, please don’t cry,” she tried to sooth me but I was too upset and on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“Jasper…” Carlisle turned his head slightly and called out to the shadowy corner.

“Working on it.” A velvety voice drifted through my head as a sudden wave of relaxation washed over my senses. I timidly watched as Jasper stepped forward. He didn’t come as close to me as the others had. Instead, he leaned against the wall with one leg propped up beneath him. His face, like the others, was very familiar to me and was absolutely flawless. The moonlight glistened through his wavy, honey-blonde hair and reached down the left side of his face. His eyes were lowered to the floor, his lips pressed firmly together. My heart fluttered as I observed the way his shirt fit snug against his muscular chest. Jasper’s head quickly jolted up, like he could hear my thoughts, and I was suddenly embarrassed. His eyes were locked with mine and, despite the heat in my face, I couldn’t bring myself to look away. There was something about his quiet, mysterious presence that pulled me in.

“You should get some rest, Bella. We will visit you again soon,” Carlisle rose to his feet, returning the chair to its original position.

“I look forward to seeing you all again. I’m sorry I can’t remember more about you.”

“Don’t apologize, you’re doing just fine,” Carlisle said as he reached down and hugged me before retreating to the window. Alice followed his example but Jasper contented himself to only nod his head in my direction and offer an awkward smile. One at a time, they leapt out the window into the darkness. The room was once again lonely and silent. I was more determined than ever to remember more about Carlisle and his family… especially Jasper.